Rick
Feed back on the 230 project. The uncorking was right on the money. It came alive. I also tried the 15 teeth front sprocket. What a difference. I had to do second gear holeshots to feel the bike moving forward before I changed it. Now I can use my first gear for something.

Next I did the front suspension using kx 125/250 2004 inverted shocks. I welded two cups, to accept the bigger steering bearing races of the new suspension into the 230's steering column . This made the shock bolt right on. I used the stock front wheel and the brake caliper. The brake line is a little short. It still fitted. I am going to replace it with a steel braided one. I had to machine the front axle nut. Now it feels like a Cadillac.

Before the stock suspension used to bottom out. Bang! a hard hit metal to metal, my hands hurt. Now I am working on the rear. I bought the bbr linkage to raise the rear 1" and I am saving for the works suspension rear shock. I think that dealing with cr 85 parts does no good to heavier riders or to the motorcycle. 85's are like bicycles. I rather put parts from a mans bike than from a kids bike. Thanks for all the info. Very useful.

Andres Anzalotta

Excellent feedback, Andres. Right now, we're working on the upside down forks and are trying a number of different approaches, but we want to make the swap a realistic project that can be done by the average dirt biker. I'm glad you made the sprocket swap to a 15 and saw the difference it makes. We'll experiment with the races and see what develops.

Rick,
Is there any danger with just removing the airbox baffle without changing the jetting or exhaust?

Thanks
Dan B

Yes, there is. You could find yourself running dangerously lean. If you remove all the restrictive stuff, go with the power up jetting.

Rick
Great article, changing the gearing sure made a big difference.

I went with the 14 tooth front sprocket and a 48 tooth rear,

I could have gone with the 47 tooth rear and achieved the same ratio that you used but I had a 48 tooth so I went with that.

I went with the 14 tooth counter shaft sprocket so I could still use the sprocket cover. I wanted to keep the exposed wire covered. I did like the look with out the cover.

I'm still trying to get my Works Performance shock set right and Works has made an adjustment.>

I still haven't decided on what do with the front forks. That's next. Thanks again for doing all the work.

John Darby

Another gearing success story! Try one more tooth and you'll be more impressed. We're working on the forks now.

Firstly thanks for replying and clearing up the cr85 front fork? And I agree, why bother. Your CRF230 project has been of great value to me. I used the Powroll piston kit, matched it with a cam, then went a little further with head porting, etc and it came up a treat.

However I never realized just how good it was till I took your gearing advice. I now run 14 - 49 and the improvement in rideability was amazing.

I have the Works Performance Pro shock, oversize front disc so I can stop the little girl and all is sweet.

Except the front forks - BBR springs and 15w oil is getting me by, but I am waiting for options on inverted fork conversion. The CRF230 is regestable for recreational riding here {Victoria , Australia} and with your help I now have a great low maintenance trail bike.

Thanks again
Cheers
Steve

Indeed, why putz around with a mini bike front end when you can have the real thing? Your gearing swap is close to right on. We chose to leave the engine stock, but your choice is interesting. Stay tuned, as we should have all the front end answers next month ... just in time for riding season.

When jetting the CRF230f, can you just leave the gas tank on with the gas switch off? It doesn't matter if it will be a bit more difficult or not. Also, I ride in 5,000 to 6,000 elevation. Do you think a 132 needle will be fine? For the last question, what is the pilot screw, and where is it located?

Thank you.
No Name

I tried to get to the guts of the carb for jetting swaps without removing the tank and gave up because my fingers wouldn't fit inside. Believe me, it's much easier with the tank off. I think you'd be better off with the full power up jetting kit. The pilot jet can be reached when you take the float bowl off the carb.

Rick,
I enjoyed the latest installment of the project CRF 230. I had two questions;

1.) Did you put the CRF 230 fork springs in the CR 250 forks?
2.) Why did you put the spacer on the bottom of the fork tube?

While asking 1.), I assume that you did, just wanted to make sure 2.) that worked better than on top of the fork tube.

I have enjoyed the project 230 series.

Thanks,
James

It made sense to put it on the bottom of the steering stem instead of the top. This kept the front end from riding too high. CR 125 springs (stock ones) were used in the forks.

Hey Rick,
Thanks for your very helpful information on the power up adjustments for the carb. I took out the baffle and the air box cover and I put a 1 tooth bigger sprocket on my bike. I then did all the modifications for the powerup and I haven't took my bike out yet. It has been snowing here in connecticut and I am wondering what this bike will be like when I first take it out. Right now I have a 2005 Honda CRF 230F and a 2004 Suzuki RM 125. The RM 125 easily has more low end and a lot more power when the CRF 230 was stock.

One more thing, I never rode a 250F before so that's why I am kind of wondering but I beat the 250F's on my local track all the time with my 2004 Suzuki RM 125. I was just trying to find out if I could even compete with them on the CRF 230. I am a good rider so if the CRF 230 is fairly close, then I can most likely beat some of them. Once again thanks for everything and please email me soon.

Tyler

Nope, your 230 is a good solid trail bike, not a racer. A 250F should pull you on most tracks.

Hey again Superhunky,
I have the front end fix for my 230 project all buttoned up now and have run into one final and hopefully minor problem. The CR 125 triple clamps are substantially wider than the stock ones. Therefore when turning the bars lock to lock, the outside edge of the bottom triple clamp hits the gas tank before it hits the metal stopper welded to the frame. A simple fix would be to extend the stopper by about a 1/2 to 5/8 inch on both sides. Not a problem.

However I'm afraid I will lose the sharp turning capability if I do this. My only other idea is to modify the gas tank, but I don't know if this is even possible or practical. Any ideas??? I have not actually ridden the bike yet with the new front end, maybe I won't notice much of a difference in turning capability if the stopper is extended.

Thanks in advance,
Kari

There's plenty of room to extend the stoppers without really hurting the turning radius.

Hello Rick,
I recently purchased 3 2005 CRF230f for my boys and and I and we are really enjoying them. A friend of mine took us to a desert race here in New Mexico and I was talking with a fella that was racing a 230. He had several mods on it and he turned me on to your web site. Very nice!

Before they even came off the trailer the baffle was pulled out. I want to do the jetting and gearing to them right away. I have a question on the jetting? We are at 5600 feet and was wondering if the jets you used were for sea level. Can you recommend a jet and metering size that would work a our nose bleed altitude.

Thank You,
Andrew Zimmerman

I have no experience jetting the 230 at high altitude, but 230 riders have told me that their bikes perform well with the power up kit installed and all the baffles removed.

Rick,
Thanks for all the great info on the project crf230 bike. Just wanted to let you know if you ever plan on upgrading the saddle I used a company called Guts Racing. The stock seat was too hard for my boney ass. You send them your seat and they will replace the foam and seat cover. They offer several options of firmness, height, color and texture. I am very pleased with the seat they made for my bike. The fit is not perfect like the stock seat (larger gap now between the seat and sides of tank) and it is slightly narrower on top than stock but overall it is much more comfortable than stock. I could not find a replacement seat from SDG or CEET. Here is the website if interested. http://www.gutsracing.com/pages/coverpg2.html

Jeff
Tustin, CA

Thanks for the tip. We'll pass it on to our readers.

Super Hunky
Read article in Off-Road.Com on the Project Honda CRF230. Can some of the stuff you did be done to the Honda CRF150? Have a 2005 and the new 2006 electric start.

Scott Brown

The suspension mods can be done, but I have not done any investigating on the jetting. Feedback from 150 riders is welcome.

I am a bit leery changing the front sprocket. Will going down a tooth or two on the rear get me the same results? Great article and info.

Thank you
Matt

Changing the front sprocket is a lot easier and cheaper than doing a rear sprocket. You would have to drop 7 - 8 teeth on the rear to match two teeth bigger on the front.

Great to see Project Honda CRF230F continuing with such spirit - awesome!

More about the forks...

I am considering going with upside-down ones since there seem to be more of them available, but they are typically from newer models - I have seen some from '97 and '00 - '04 CR250 or CRF250/450 bikes.

Do you guys expect to have more trouble, in particular, with fitting upside-down forks that came from an aluminum frame Honda? Or is it mainly a question of - do the stem, bearings and races match up? If not, can one make a plan that will work?

I don't know the different Honda's well enough to anticipate incompatibility issues, before spending money on some forks. I know that you guys are going to be experimenting with upside-down forks as well - advice regarding any "no-no's" & "do's" would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, best regards

Denver
South Africa

The inside measurements are the same on the steering head, so there should be no problem there. We should have the whole thing ironed out by next month.